Methyl group

It can be produced by electrical discharge in ketene at low pressure (less than one torr) and its enthalpy of reaction is determined to be about 252.2 ± 3.3 kJ/mol.

[5] In discussing mechanisms of organic reactions, methyl lithium and related Grignard reagents are often considered to be salts of CH−3; and though the model may be useful for description and analysis, it is only a useful fiction.

[citation needed] The oxidation of a methyl group occurs widely in nature and industry.

Ultimately oxidation of methyl groups gives protons and carbon dioxide, as seen in combustion.

When placed in benzylic or allylic positions, the strength of the C−H bond is decreased, and the reactivity of the methyl group increases.

One manifestation of this enhanced reactivity is the photochemical chlorination of the methyl group in toluene to give benzyl chloride.

In most molecules, the remainder R breaks the C∞ symmetry of the R−C axis and creates a potential V(φ) that restricts the free motion of the three protons.

[14] French chemists Jean-Baptiste Dumas and Eugene Peligot, after determining methanol's chemical structure, introduced "methylene" from the Greek μέθυ (methy) "wine" and ὕλη (hȳlē) "wood, patch of trees" with the intention of highlighting its origins, "alcohol made from wood (substance)".

Methyl is the IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry term for an alkane (or alkyl) molecule, using the prefix "meth-" to indicate the presence of a single carbon.